


The littlest Agent of Shield

by sssssssim



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, F/M, Fitzsimmons Secret Valentine, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-20 13:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6007036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssssssim/pseuds/sssssssim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Daisy comes back from a mission with a baby boy who just lost both of his parents, it becomes clear that Fitz is the only one who can take care of him. That's exactly what Fitz does, with Simmons by his side more often than not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The littlest Agent of Shield

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [@cupcake's fanfoms](http://cupcakesfandoms.tumblr.com/), who wanted something fluffy.  
> I hope you like it, babe. I've had fun with it :).

He was in the kitchen, fixing a quick lunch for him and Jemma, while she made them tea. Discretely looking over his shoulder, Fitz couldn’t help but wonder how long it’ll take.

In the six months that followed their trip to Not-Tattooine (as Coulson kept calling it), things between him and Jemma have been good.

She mourned the loss of Will, of course, and there were days in which Fitz thought she hated him, despised him, blamed him for Will’s death, but Jemma never once pushed him away. He helped her grieve, and when she wanted to get back to work, to the lab, to their lab, Fitz was right there beside her.

He’s been beside her ever since.

And they were doing well, he thought. They were best friends again, finishing each other’s sentences, joking around, teasing each other around the lab. Eating together, sharing the same working space, Fitz didn’t feel a sharp stab in his stomach when someone called them FitzSimmons.

It was nice.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder, how long will it take for their relationship to change again? Into something worse (please, don’t make it so) or into something better (he’d do anything for it, really he would).

Fitz was startled out of his thoughts by Coulson storming into the kitchen. He looked rumpled, pale.

‘What happened?’, Jemma asked.

‘There was a problem on Daisy’s mission.’

‘Are they hurt?’, Jemma quickly interrupted.

Coulson shook his head. ‘They were out to talk to a couple of inhumans, but they were dead when Daisy and her team got there.’

‘So what was the problem?’, Fitz asked.

Coulson hesitated. ‘The problem is that whoever killed them, they left their child live.’

Fitz thought that in that moment, he could have easily killed someone without having any remorse, if that someone was the person who killed these people.

‘Daisy and her team are bringing the kid in.’

‘Oh’, Jemma said, ever so softly.

‘There’s nothing else we can do’, Coulson leveled her with a look. ‘We don’t know if the kid’s inhuman or not.’

‘Yes, of course’, Jemma nodded. ‘We can keep him safe. Him?’

Coulson nodded. ‘It’s a boy.’

The Director sighed. ‘We don’t have anybody on base who knows how to deal with children.’

‘How old is he?’, Fitz asked.

Coulson shrugged. ‘Lincoln said a couple of months.’

‘So a baby. You’re bringing a baby on base.’

‘What else am I supposed to do, Fitz?’, Coulson said strongly, a bit of anger seeping through.

‘Fitz has cousins’, Jemma said quickly, clearly wanting to defuse the tension. ‘A lot of them.’

‘Yeah’, Fitz sighed. ‘I can handle a baby.’

Coulson sighed in relief, easily squeezing Fitz’ shoulder.

‘We’re going to need supplies, though’, Jemma said, always fast to think on her feet.

Coulson nodded. ‘They’re still three hours out.’

‘I can go and buy some basic essentials, to last us for a couple of days’, Fitz said, already making a mental list. ‘And we can order everything else online, if you decide he’s staying.’

Coulson nodded.

‘Do you want me to go with you?’, Jemma asked, wrapping a hand around his wrist, like she usually did these days.

Fitz smiled at her, but shook her head. ‘I’d rather you found me a desk.’

Of course, Jemma frowned.

‘And put it in my bunk’, Fitz went on. ‘Instead of a changing table. And maybe a couple of those sterile sheets from the infirmary.’

Jemma kept nodding along.

‘And a bigger trashcan’, he added as an afterthought.

‘For the diapers?’, Jemma asked, innocently battling her eyelashes.

‘For the diapers’, he confirmed around a sigh.

‘Thank god you’re here’, Coulson breathed out, and really, Fitz had to agree with him.

♥

The lady at the counter of the 24/7 drugstore Fitz found gave him a very odd look. Understandable, considering that he was buying a lot of diapers, a lot of formula, three baby bottles, four tiny onesies, a fluffy blanket and hypoallergenic detergent.

‘Accidental baby acquisition’, Fitz said, and the woman’s face fell in shock.

He laughed, trying to play it down. ‘Kidding. My sister got sick, I gotta babysit.’

She raised an eyebrow at that. ‘You’re going to need some toys, dear. And a crib.’

‘I’ll order those online’, Fitz waved a hand around, giving her the Shield black credit card.

♥

Jemma not only found a large desk and had it moved into his room, but she also tidied up. All the dirty clothes that were usually thrown on the ground were now tucked away in his clothes hamper, the room was dust free, the carpet was vacuumed and she changed his sheets.

Fitz would have freaked out over at least one of those things, had he not found himself too busy freaking out over the fact that there was a baby less than an hour away.

♥

Sam was an adorable little thing. He had rosy cheeks and very little hair on his head, but he had a pair of bright blue eyes that were impossible to look away from.

He was crying, has been crying on and off the entire ride, Lincoln said, and Fitz’ heart broke, when he saw that Sam’s clothes were stained red.

‘Take him to the infirmary’, Coulson said, and Fitz scoffed, as he took Sam from Lincoln.

‘No, I’m taking him to my room, giving him a bath and changing him, feeding him and after that, if he’s still awake, I’m taking him to the infirmary.’

He might have been too harsh, considering Jemma told him a somewhat subdued ‘Be nice, Fitz’, but Coulson didn’t say anything else.

♥

Sam calmed down when he was clean, fed and cuddled, but he still didn’t go to sleep. So Fitz made his way to the infirmary.

To say that everybody stared at him, that was an understatement. Fitz got it, though. He was the cranky engineer that nobody liked to deal with, except for a handful of people. Seeing him walking the hallways with a crying baby in his hands must have been a sight to see.

Jemma, thank the heavens, didn’t stare at him. Instead, she cooed, praised the adorableness of Sam. After she pressed a soft kiss to Sam’s temple, she kissed Fitz’s cheek too, so it was okay.

Sam cried all the way through her examination, no matter how much Jemma tried calming him down. But she deemed him fit enough, and she said she’d join Fitz in his room after she started the blood analysis.

By the time she made it to his, Fitz was pretty desperate, because Sam was still crying.

‘Hold him for a minute, please’, was the first thing he said to Jemma. ‘I gotta take off my shirt.’

‘What?’, she yelped.

It took a split second for Fitz to realize what made her react that way, and he blushed furiously.

‘Skin to skin contact calms down babies’, he said, mumbled really, but Jemma did take Sam off his hands.

‘Of course’, she nodded. ‘You’re right.’

Bless her soul, she turned around as he took off his shirt, which Fitz found utterly adorable. And when Jemma turned around, handing Sam back, she made a point to look Fitz straight in the eye.

Fitz couldn’t focus on her, though, not when Sam was still bawling against his chest. So he turned all of his attention to the baby in his arms.

He held Sam tightly, walked with him around the room, bounced him around, told him the story of the three little pigs, and a quick version of the little red riding hood, and finally, Sam fell asleep.

With Jemma’s help, he made a place for him in the middle of the bed, by stacking up pillows on every side, ensuring the baby will not roll off during the night.

‘It’s astonishing’, Jemma whispered as Fitz was putting his shirt back on, ‘how good you are with children.’

Fitz threw her a look and mouthed the word ‘astonishing’.

‘You’re quite horrible with most people’, she went on, unperturbed of how she was insulting him. ‘But with children, you’re amazing.’

‘Children don’t judge’, Fitz shrugged, and maybe he shouldn’t have said that, because Jemma was looking at him with a particular expression, that usually meant he had hugs in his near future.

She didn’t hug him, but he did get a kiss on the cheek before Jemma left.

That was twice in a day.

Fitz was too concerned about Sam to realize it.

♥

Fitz maybe slept for 2 or 3 hours that night. Sam kept waking up, sometimes for food, sometimes for a new diaper, but mostly for no reason whatsoever. It was more often than a baby of his age should have woken up, but he has been through a traumatic experience, so Fitz understood it.

Come 7AM, his phone pinged with a text from Coulson, informing him that he was expected in his office. Fitz took an extra minute to change his shirt and brush his teeth, but that was it.

He turned one of his sheets into a make-shift baby wrap, and after securing Sam against his chest, he made his way to Coulson’s office.

There were a lot of people in it. Coulson and May, Daisy, Bobbi and Lincoln. And Jemma, who wordlessly handed him a cup of tea.

Fitz was directed into a chair, and everybody kept silent, until he sat down, took off the wrap and made sure Sam was comfortable, sitting on his knees. The baby didn’t seem to mind all the strange people around him, he regarded them curiously.

‘He’s cute’, Bobbi said, a hint of a smile on his face.

‘He’s fat’, May said next, completely straight faced.

‘He’s average in weight for a baby his age’, Jemma said stiffly throwing May a cold look.

Sam laughed then, and Daisy and Lincoln both cooed, out loud.

‘How are you holding up, Fitz?’, Coulson asked, and he shrugged in response.

‘He’s been up a lot more than he should have, but that’s to be expected, I think.’

‘Poor thing has been through a very nasty experience’, Jemma nodded. ‘Children his age don’t usually acknowledge or remember such traumatic events, but some fallout is to be expected. ‘

‘But he’s okay?’, Coulson insisted. ‘Medically speaking.’

Jemma nodded. ‘The blood tests came back, everything seems in order. And there are no inhuman markers.’

‘There wouldn’t be’, Lincoln said. ‘He’s way too young to be put through terrigenesis.’

‘That’s what happened with his parents?’, Fitz asked, and Lincoln nodded.

‘They were in Afterlife the first time I was taken there. A couple of years ago.’

‘What were their powers?’, Jemma asked.

‘He could start fires, and she had a mild form of mind control.'

‘Do we know who killed them?’, Fitz asked, even as he was busy keeping Sam’s hands away from his hair.

‘Not yet, but we’re working on it’, Coulson said strongly. ‘In the meantime, the police are investigating the murder, and they’re looking for Sam.’

‘It’s a worldwide manhunt’, May supplied. ‘They’re treating it like a kidnapping.’

They all looked to Sam then, who somehow, has managed to take the collar of Fitz’ shirt in his mouth and he was happily munching on it. He didn’t have any teeth, but he had determination.

‘What do we do?’, Jemma asked in a very soft voice.

‘We can’t give him to the authorities’, Lincoln said, somewhat forcefully. ‘Not until we know who killed his parents, or why they left him alive.’

‘I agree’, Coulson said, easily. ‘But that means we’re going to have to take care of him.’

It was clear that they were all waiting for Fitz’ opinion on it.

‘I can take care of him, sure’, Fitz shrugged. ‘But not forever.’

‘Of course not, Fitz’, Coulson nodded. ‘We’ll keep him until the cops stop looking, or until we take care of the people responsible.’

‘And after that?’, Fitz asked, and Coulson faltered.

‘We’ll find someone to take him in.’

Fitz couldn’t say that that made him feel better, but he knew better than to address the problem now.

‘Are you willing to take care of him?’, Coulson asked next, and Fitz frowned.

‘Of course. Uh, I think I should take a couple of days off work, but after Sam is more settled in, I’ll be able to go back to the lab.’

‘That’s not what I meant’, Coulson said, slowly.

‘Sir’, Fitz sighed. ‘I’m good with kids. I can handle this, but we’re going to need more… stuff.’

‘Yes, of course’, Coulson nodded. ‘Feel free to order anything you need, but...’, he turned towards Daisy and Bobbi. ‘Ladies, you’re in charge of fixing up the nursery.’

‘What?’, Fitz frowned.

‘We can’t have you in your usual room, Fitz, nobody down the hall slept at all last night.’

Fitz winced, because yeah, that was probably true.

‘We have a couple of guest apartments’, Coulson went on, ‘on the other part of the base. There’s nobody around to be disturbed by the crying, and you’ll have your own kitchen and bathroom.’

‘That doesn’t sound so bad’, Fitz grinned.

‘Great’, Coulson smiled, turning back to look at the women. ‘You’re in charge of setting those up.’

‘Why?’, Jemma asked a bit strongly. ‘Because we’re women and we’re supposed to have maternal instincts?’

‘No’, Coulson blinked at her, a small smirk on his lips. ‘Because you’re better at color coordinating than I am.’

‘Anything but yellow, please’, Fitz piped up, making Jemma glare at him. ‘You know it makes me sleepy.’

‘And please, hurry up’, Coulson added. ‘Make this a top priority, because we can’t afford having that many exhausted agents running around.’

‘I’ll help’, Lincoln smiled. ‘Do the heavy lifting.’

They started leaving, after that, but not before saying a proper goodbye to Sam. The baby seemed to enjoy Lincoln’s stubble and Bobbi’s hair the most.

Jemma helped Fitz wrap Sam in the sheet again, looking a bit bewildered at his technique.

‘Come on’, she finally said, running a hand over Sam’s head. ‘I’ll make you some breakfast.’

But she was talking to Fitz, not to Sam, so off they went.

♥

It took about a week to get the rooms done, and by that time, Fitz and Sam fell into somewhat of a pattern.

The baby had strict feeding hours, he had a bath every night before bed, and thankfully, he was sleeping a lot better. He still woke up, but only two or three times a night, so Fitz didn’t feel like a zombie anymore.

He also made a point to not stay locked up in his room. He walked with Sam around every day, aimlessly roaming the halls of the base with the baby at his chest. Thus, Sam got used to being around people, and he didn’t mind when they played with him.

Still, Fitz was glad to be able to move somewhere more secluded.

There were only two rooms, but it was pretty impressive. One of the rooms was the largest he has seen on base, with a double bed and a closet in a corner, but it also had a couch, a bookcase with an incorporated desk, and a TV. The room didn’t look any different than the rest of the base, with warm wood and exposed brick walls, but it was large, still had enough space to move around and because of that, it felt very luxurious to Fitz.

The kitchen wasn’t large, but it was fully stocked. The bathroom wasn’t that big either, but it had a bath, which will come in handy with Sam’s night time ritual, and it also had a washing machine and a drier, for which Fitz was very thankful.

But the icing on the cake was Sam’s room.

It wasn’t as large as Fitz’s room, but it didn’t need to be. The walls were painted a soft light blue, but still vivid enough to be fun. The crib was white, as well as the changing table and the drawers, that were already packed with the clothes and toys Fitz ordered. There was a plush carpet in the middle of the room, and a white armchair, that Fitz already knew he will be spending a lot of hours in.

But the pest part of the room was the wall above the crib, where there was a mural: monkeys. Cute little monkeys, anatomically incorrect monkeys, utterly adorable monkeys, that were handing off the branches of a tree.

Fitz laughed a lot, completely delighted.

‘My idea’, Jemma puffed out her chest.

‘The best idea’, Fitz nodded, utterly grateful.

Jemma took Sam away from his hands, then, and he happily went, smiling up at her with his fingers wrapping around the tips of her hair.

‘Only the best for my boys’, Jemma said softly. She was looking at Sam, but Fitz’s heart still skipped a beat because of the plural she used.

‘Do you mind if I join you for breakfast?’, she asked, smiling softly.

‘Of course not’, Fitz didn’t hesitate.

They haven’t seen as much of each other since Sam showered up, because Jemma still had work to do in the lab. So this was nice, having breakfast with her, both of them fussing over Sam.

Sam, who seemed to like Jemma as much as Fitz did, because whenever she was in the room, he only had eyes for her. Sam, that is.

Fitz too, but that was a normal occurance.

♥

Fitz was pretty surprised by how easily the base welcomed Sam into their folds.

Baby Sam, Agent of Shield. Who would’ve thought?

Everybody loved Sam, and Sam seemed happy every time he got attention. He liked when Coulson made funny faces at him, or when Mack help him up high, twirling him around above his head. The women of Shield settled for cuddling Sam, except for May, who didn’t really do much, just stick her tongue out at the baby, when she thought nobody was looking. Hunter was the only one who kept his distance, because apparently, babies scared him. They were way too fragile, and he couldn’t handle fragile.

Still, Sam spent most of his time with Fitz. He was getting attached, he knew he was, and maybe that wasn’t a good thing, because sooner or later, Sam will have to go away.

Jemma tried talking to him about it, but it was clear that it was a futile discussion, because Fitz already cared. He’ll deal with it when the time comes, Fitz kept saying, and Jemma sighed, disappointed, but she also told him that she’ll be here for him.

It was ridiculous, how better that made him feel.

♥

He couldn’t stay away from the lab forever, so Fitz got back to work, eventually. But more often than not, Sam was with him, safely tucked away in a corner of the lab, happy to babble away as the hours passed by.

Jemma didn’t mind his presence, and every once in a while, someone did babysit Sam. Mostly Daisy and Lincoln, Bobbi every once in a while, but there were times when Jemma and Fitz were alone in the lab.

Those times, things almost felt like they were normal.

♥

After Fitz took Sam out for a walk, a proper walk, in a stroller, outside, for the first time, of course the baby got a cold.

He was running a fever and he was breathing a bit heavily, but Jemma assured Fitz that it was not that bad.

Still, that didn’t stop Fitz from spending the night awake, making sure Sam wasn’t taking a turn for the worse. So when Jemma knocked on his door come dawn, Fitz was wide awake, sprawled on his bed, with Sam sleeping on his chest, his little fist tightly wrapped around one of Fitz’ fingers.

The grin Jemma threw his way was blinding. She wordlessly made her way to the other side of the bed, taking her shoes off before joining Fitz on the bed. She sat on her side, facing him, holding her head up with a hand and it wasn’t the first time they shared a bed.

It hasn’t happened since the Academy, and back then, Fitz didn’t know what he knew now, like how her lips felt against his, and how her body fitted against his.

But Jemma only had eyes for Sam.

‘How’s his fever?’, she whispered.

‘It broke an hour ago. I changed his clothes, forced him to eat a bit, and he fell asleep quickly.’

Jemma nodded, resting a hand on Sam’s bottom. It took a couple of seconds, but she did move it over Fitz’ hand, where is sat on Sam’s back.

‘Have you slept?’

Fitz shook his head, making Jemma sigh.

‘I’ve got a few more hours till I have to get to the lab. I’ll take care of Sam, why don’t you take a nap?’

‘I just got him to sleep, he’ll wake up if I put him in the crib now.’

Jemma smiled at that, moving around until she could reach the comforter that was at the end of the bed. She covered Fitz and Sam both with it, and placed a tiny kiss on the crown of the baby’s head.

‘Go to sleep, Fitz’, she said softly. ‘I’ll be right here.’

He didn’t want to, but after Jemma made herself comfortable on the bed, she started running her fingers through his hair. Which is a thing she has never done before, and Fitz was very surprised to see how much he enjoyed the sensation.

Fitz fell asleep counting Sam’s and Jemma’s breathes, which surprisingly enough, were completely in sync.

♥

He woke up when Jemma pressed a kiss to his forehead, and it took Fitz an embarrassing long time to remember that he wasn’t allowed to kiss her every time he wanted.

Sam wasn’t sleeping on his chest anymore, but right next to him, their hands still linked.

‘I have to get to work.’, Jemma whispered, very apologetic.

Fitz nodded. ‘I’ll wait for him to wake up before I come too.’

‘Nobody would blame you if you took the day off, Fitz.’

He just shrugged, because he has had quite enough days off since Sam came along.

Jemma sighed. ‘I’ll see you soon, then.’

He had to grin at that, because she still knew what he was thinking.

♥

Fitz’s favorite part of the day wasn’t after Sam went to bed, on when the baby had his afternoon nap, or when he was silent as he was being fed.

No, Fitz’s favorite part of the day was taking Sam out for a walk. Mostly because he enjoyed getting an hour or two of fresh air, some of it because it was nice to leave the base without actually going on a mission, but more so because Jemma usually joined them.

He lost count, about how many old ladies stopped them to coo at the baby, how many strangers thought that Sam was his and Jemma’s.

At first, they both freaked out and denied it, but over the course of a week, Jemma stopped doing it. Instead, she just said a polite thank you and urged them on.

Fitz didn’t know what to make of it. It made his heart beat a lot faster in his chest, and he knew he blushed furiously every time it would happen.

But then Jemma would laugh about it, make a bad joke or call him ‘Mr Simmons’, and Fitz was so exasperated by it, he forgot about everything else.

Fitz also took great pleasure in seeing Jemma feeding Sam. He didn’t know what it was, but seeing her with a baby in her arms, telling him a story as she held the bottle to his mouth, it made something snap inside of his heart.

He knew, logically speaking, that at that moment, his brain thought of Jemma having her own child, of him being the father, of them being happy parents. But that was all levels of wrong, because Fitz has never in his life wanted children.

Having grown up without a father, he’d never force a child to go through that. And with his line of work, there was never any guarantee. At this point, in his life and in the history of Shield, he couldn’t even give a child a safe environment to grow up in, much less the promise of a father that will come home every night.

But Fitz didn’t have the luxury to dwell on these thoughts. Because he doesn’t know what he would do without her, and his relationship with Jemma was still fragile, somewhat. He couldn’t afford for anything to break it again, nor did he want to.

He wanted their relationship to change, but into something more.

And that was another thought he couldn’t dwell on, not when there was a baby he needed to take care of.

Speaking of…

‘I don’t remember buying him that shirt.’, Fitz said, walking into the room.

Jemma looked up to smile at him, but she didn’t stop feeding Sam.

‘Did you really not notice how many clothes Sam has?’

He frowned.

‘Fitz’, Jemma laughed, ‘we’ve all been buying him things.’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, I’ve been washing them and putting them in the drawers.’

‘Oh. Thank you.’

Fitz really needed to pay more attention to his surroundings. He shook his head and made his way to Jemma’s side, giving the shirt a better look.

It had a colorful version of the periodic table on it, and it said _I wear this onesie… PERIODICALLY._ Fitz had to admit, it was pretty great. He wanted an adult version for himself.

‘This is your doing, I assume’, he said, rolling his eyes when Jemma just grinned innocently up at him.

He made his way to the drawers and started looking through Sam’s clothes, placing the people responsible with Jemma’s help.

Bobbi got Sam the shirt that said _perfect gentleman_. Daisy got him the one that said _cutie π_ , the tshirt with a tie drawn on it, and a pair of converse socks. Hunter was, apparently, responsible for the ridiculous _these guns are way too big for holsters_ shirt. Coulson was the first to get Sam anything Avengers-related, a shirt with Captain America’s shield.

Fitz had three favorites. The Doctor Who related shirt that was clearly from Jemma (even if the two of them were the only ones who knew who Stormageddon was), the black one with the Shield logo, which apparently came from May, and, the best of the best, the monkey onesie. The fluffy, adorable, monkey onesie that Lincoln got for Sam.

They were all crazy, clearly.

‘You’re doing a great thing, you know’, Jemma’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

When Fitz turned around, he saw that Sam was fast asleep in his crib and that Jemma was close enough to grab a hold of his hand and drag him to the other room.

She only spoke when the door to Sam’s room was closed.

‘You really are doing a great thing, for him. Who knows what would’ve happened to him if it wasn’t for you?’

Fitz scoffed. ‘We still don’t know what’s going to happen to him.’

That made her falter. ‘Well, yes, but… Damn it, Fitz, I was trying to give you a compliment!’

She seemed so distressed of her failure, Fitz couldn’t help it. He laughed.

It only made her angrier, Jemma gaped wordlessly at him.

‘I’m sorry’, he caught his breath, still chuckling as he impulsively wrapped his arms around Jemma. ‘Thank you for the compliment, but maybe you could work on your delivery next time.’

She puffed, highly aggravated, and pinched his sides before returning the hug.

That was the end of that discussion, but Fitz would be lying, if he said he fell asleep quickly that night.

♥

Because Sam had a strict feeding schedule, Fitz had one too. So when lunch time came around, he’d usually go to his apartment, Jemma close behind. They’d have lunch together, but only after Sam was fed.

Today, Jemma didn’t join him, because she was working on something time sensitive in the lab. Fitz didn’t mind.

But that day, he didn’t make it back to the lab after lunch. Because as he was passing by Coulson’s office, he couldn’t help but peak in when he noticed there were a lot of people in it.

Civil War, the media called it. Iron Man and Captain America going head to head against each other in the middle of New York. The Winter Soldier fighting by Cap’s side.

Fitz was speechless, and so was everybody else in the room.

Sam must have felt the tension in the room, because he started bawling. Fitz all but ran out of there, straight to his room. Sam was crying like crazy, and Fitz knew the kid, he knew it will take a long time to get him to calm down, but that didn’t stop him from turning on the tv, even if he kept it on mute.

♥

Over the next few days, Fitz didn’t sleep a lot. Nobody on base did.

At first, Coulson didn’t want to get involved on the count that the Avengers didn’t know he was alive. But his reservation were quickly thrown out the window when they realized just how bad it was.

So Shield got involved. And the entire base went into overdrive.

Except for Fitz. He kept his distance, stood away from the lab and from the ongoing missions, as per Coulson’s orders. The tv in his room was open 24/7, and Fitz got updated on what was happening, because people kept stopping by.

Not for Fitz, but for Sam. They’d spend 10-20 minutes cuddling the baby, time in which they’d update Fitz on that was going on, and then they’d leave, obviously feeling a bit lighter.

Sam turned into a therapy tool, and Fitz couldn’t even be bothered by it, because it worked.

Especially on Daisy, Lincoln, Bobbi and Mack. Coulson too, when he had the time to actually come around. And Jemma.

Jemma came by more than once a day. She wasn’t very involved in the missions, so she stayed with Fitz more often than not. She napped on his bed with Sam by her side, they took turns feeding him and making food for each other. When Jemma had to leave, she’d always kiss Fitz’s cheek, as well as Sam’s.

Fitz was feeling a lot of things, but nothing was as important as the fear he felt for Captain America’s life. And, really, that outranked everything else.

♥

When the tv headlines were all something along the lines of _final superhero smackdown_ , Jemma walked in wearing tactical gear, and the floor swept from under Fitz’s feet.

‘No’, he whispered, as Jemma hurried to pick Sam up.

She hugged the baby tightly to her chest, but she was looking at Fitz.

‘Cap looks pretty hurt. They need someone on the ground, ready to deal with his injuries.’

‘But-‘

‘Doctor Banner sent me all of his files on Captain Rogers’ blood. That’s what I’ve been doing for the past week, Fitz. Getting ready for this.’

Fitz’s initial reaction was to be angry that she didn’t tell him. But if she would have, Fitz would’ve fought anybody and everybody, just to keep Jemma safe.

‘I have to go, Fitz’, she sighed, taking a few steps towards him. ‘It’s Captain America’, Jemma breathed out, with a bit of the usual awed tone she used when talking about the Avengers.

Fitz cursed under his breath, and moved quickly, to Jemma’s back. He wrapped his hands around her and Sam both, and buried his nose in her hair.

‘I’ll be fine, Fitz’, she whispered. ‘I’ll be back in no time.’

‘You better.’, he squeezed her harder. ‘Cause I don’t know what I-‘

‘I’ll be back’, she cut him off, turning around to look at him. ‘I promise.’

He took a deep breath and nodded, moving to take Sam out of Jemma’s hands.

She looked like it was physically paining her to walk out the door, and Fitz felt the exact same way.

Sam started crying, struggling against Fitz’s hold, extending his little hands for Jemma. That was a first, and it made her pause.

‘Go’, Fitz said gruffly. ‘Go save the national hero, we’ll be here when you return.’

With one last soft look, she was gone.

♥

Fitz saw her on tv.

Captain America was lying motionless in the middle of the street, he was surrounded by Avengers, the Winter Soldier was crying, kneeling next to him, and Jemma ran straight to their sides.

She was crying, Fitz could see it, but he also saw her straighten her back and bark out orders. She was surrounded by the superheroes she usually fangirled about, and Jemma completely ignored them all, focusing on Captain America.

There was blood on her hands. Steve Roger’s blood.

It made Fitz want to cry. And he almost did, if it weren’t for Sam. The baby was laughing, for reasons unknown to Fitz. Sam was looking up at him with big eyes, he kept pushing his little fingers to Fitz’ chest, laughing all the while.

It made him feel marginally better.

♥

Daisy, Lincoln and Joey were the first one to return to base, and they told Fitz that Cap was alive, but that Jemma was going to stay for another day or two, to keep an eye out for him.

Fitz didn’t expect anything less, but that didn’t mean he got a lot of sleep.

♥

It was the middle of the night when Jemma came back, but Fitz wasn’t sleeping.

She was wearing pajamas, her hair was still wet from a shower and she didn’t say one word, as she quickly made her way to Fitz’s side and hugged him tightly.

Fitz responded in kind, immediately wrapping his arms around her shoulders, letting Jemma tuck her face into the crook of his neck. He shivered when her hands crept under his tshirt, because her fingers were cold against his skin.

They stood like that for a couple of minutes, in silence. Jemma’s fingers tracing circles against his lower back, his fingers slowly massaging her scalp.

‘Can I see Sam?’, she whispered and Fitz didn’t bother answering, just led her to the room.

Jemma was silent, she just stood by the crib and watched Sam for a couple of minutes. Fitz let her be, aimlessly moving around his room until she came out.

‘Can I sleep here?’

It was said slowly, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Jemma was close to breaking.

‘Of course, Jemma’, he smiled. ‘I’ll take the couch.’

She shook her head and hugged him again, gently guiding him towards the bed.

Well then. Fitz didn’t protest.

He shared his bed with Jemma, covered them both in the comforter, and he most certainly didn’t protest when she snuggled up to him, wrapping both of her hands around his arm and resting her head on his shoulder.

Fitz knew her, so he patiently waited. It didn’t take more than a couple of minutes for Jemma to start crying.

He moved then, slowly detaching himself from her hold, just so he could properly wrap his hands around Jemma, as she started shaking through her cries.

‘He died, Fitz’, she whispered. ‘His heart stopped beating, right under my hands.’

‘But you brought him back.’, Fitz held her tighter.

‘I almost didn’t, and that…’, she had to take a deep breath before talking again. ‘That’s why I didn’t become a physician, Fitz. Because I couldn’t handle the loss.’

‘Hey’, Fitz placed a kiss on her temple before talking. ‘Physician or not, you’re the woman who saved Captain America’s life.’

‘I was lucky’, she breathed out.

‘Doesn’t matter’, Fitz shook his head, taking a deep breath. ‘Simmons’, he said with authority, ‘you can cry all you want… No, really, you’re allowed to, it’s just the physical and mental exhaustion; but at the end of the day, Steve bloody Rogers owes you his life and you should be really proud of that.’

Jemma laughed, a bit, but she still cried for awhile. Fitz held her until she fell asleep.

♥

Two days later, he had just finishing feeding Sam and was getting ready to go back to the lab when Coulson stopped by.

‘James Barnes needs someone to take a look at his arm. It’s been malfunctioning.’

Fitz blinked, because he wasn’t aware he was on base. ‘Uh. Sure?!’

‘He’s with Cap in the garage.’

That had Fitz tilting his head.

‘Less crowded’, Coulson explained. ‘Barnes is still pretty… shaken up.’

‘Okay’, Fitz shook himself out of it, already reaching for his tool box. ‘I just need to find someone to babysit Sam.’

Coulson smiled. ‘You should take him with you. Those two could use a good laugh.’

♥

Captain America was an alarmingly large man, and James Barnes looked like he was born to scowl.

Fitz ignored his thoughts, he had work to.

‘Captain, Sergeant. I’m Leopold Fitz.’

The Captain shook his hand, politely introducing himself as Steve Rogers, but Barnes made no move. Fitz didn’t even blame him.

‘You live in an underground secret base, and you have a kid?’, the Captain asked, incredibly incredulous. Understandable.

‘He’s not mine.’, Fitz shook his head. ‘His parents… Wait, did Coulson tell you about inhumans?’

The Captain nodded.

‘They were killed before we got to them’, Fitz explained. ‘We couldn’t give him to the authorities, not before we either found out why he was left alive, or catch the killer.’

‘And that’s been sitting on the back burner’, the Captain sighed, ‘what with everything’s that’s been going on.’

Fitz shrugged. ‘We were never that good with deadlines.’

Cap smiled then.

‘I like his shirt.’

Fitz had to check, because he didn’t remember what he chose that morning, and he snorted when he saw that Sam was wearing his Captain America onesie.

‘He has the entire Avengers collection’, Fitz rolled his eyes, because he brought exactly 0 of them. ‘The Falcon one has little wings on the back.’

Cap laughed at that, loudly.

‘Sam’s gonna love that.’

Fitz frowned.

‘Falcon’, Cap explained. ‘His name’s Sam.’

‘Well so is his’, Fitz jiggled the baby a bit in his arms, making Sam laugh in delight.

‘I can hold him, if you want’, Cap said, somewhat awkwardly. ‘I mean, if you want, while you work on Bucky.’

Fitz hesitated, making the other man roll his eyes.

‘Mr. Fitz, I did my fair share of babysitting growing up.’

‘It’s just Fitz’, is what he started with. Then, as he handled the baby to Cap, he leveled him with a look. ‘Please keep in mind that you didn’t have superserum induced strength back that.’

But it didn’t seem to be a problem, because Cap expertly held Sam against his chest, and the baby seemed to be enjoying banging his head on Captain’s America’s muscles. But he was laughing, so he probably wasn’t getting hurt.

‘I still got it’, the Captain grinned at Fitz, and Barnes snorted in the background.

‘Sure, Cap’, Fitz shook his head.

‘Steve, please’, he piped up, but Fitz was already focusing on Barnes.

‘You ready for this?’

Barnes shook his head.

Fitz sighed. ‘Well, I’m just as smart as Tony Stark is. And I have the added bonus of not ever trying to kill you.’

Steve snorted at that, and Barnes just blinked at Fitz for a couple of seconds.

‘Well you’re not wrong.’

‘So lie down, please’, Fitz said with a bit of authority, ‘and tell me what’s wrong with the arm.’

And just like that, he was immersed in work. The arm was an incredible piece of technology, and Fitz would be lying if he said he wasn’t very excited to have a look at it.

He spent a couple of long minutes cleaning its insides up, replacing a few wires and things, but he kept an eye on for Sam. He was happily laughing at Steve, so Fitz didn’t concern himself too much.

When Barnes spoke, Fitz was only slightly startled.

‘Coulson told us what happened to you when Hydra fell.’

He looked terribly guilty, and it made Fitz frown.

‘That was on me.’, Barnes went on.

‘No’, Fitz was quick to say. ‘That was on Hydra. On the Hydra asset who betrayed our team.’

Barnes didn’t look convinced, and damn it, this was not his area of expertise. His bedside manners were atrocious, as Jemma kept telling him.

‘I’m not good at this’, Fitz admitted, ‘but I promise you that absolutely nobody on this base blames you for anything.’

‘Same goes for you’, he added as an afterthought, sparing a look at Steve.

‘Now’, Fitz wanted to change the subject, ‘I’ve cleaned up everything that I could, but the mechanics are directly connected to your nervous system.’

‘Yes’, Barnes nodded. ‘So the hand does what I need it to.’

Fitz pulled a face. ‘That’s more Simmons’ area of expertise.’

‘That’s the doctor who worked on me, right?’, Steve said, and Fitz nodded.

It took a couple of seconds, but Barnes nodded, so after a quick phone call, Jemma was on her way to the garage.

When she got there, she went straight to Sam, sweetly kissing his head and pretending to take a bite out of his fingers.

It was kind of funny to watch, the moment Jemma realized who was holding Sam. She froze, blushing furiously, blinking up at Steve.

‘Captain.’, she said, slowly.

‘Steve, please.’, he smiled easily. ‘I think we can be on a first name basis considering you’ve literally had your hands in my chest.’

‘Well’, Jemma gulped. ‘It’s good to see you up and running. I’m sorry, I just expected to see Fitz holding Sam.’

Fitz snorted at that, and it made Jemma’s attention land on him.

‘What’s up?’, she asked, coming to his side and easily smiling at Barnes.

‘I dealt with the mechanics, cleaned it up’, Fitz explained, ‘but the command controls are connected to the nervous system.’

Jemma frowned, taking a peak into the arm.

‘And they’ve been malfunctioning?’

‘More like delaying’, Barnes said slowly. ‘Moving a bit slower than usual, and it hurts more.’

‘But the arm still does what you want it to?’

Barnes nodded.

‘Well’, Jemma looked up at him, ‘is it okay if I take a look?’

‘No, but you’re going to do it anyway.’

That made Jemma smirk, and Fitz got the feeling that they have interacted before, probably when she was saving Steve’s life.

But Barnes didn’t say anything else, so Fitz gave her the chair he was sitting on and a pair of new gloves.

‘We’ve encountered something similar before’, she said after a couple of minutes.

‘Centipede?’, Fitz nodded, having already thought about it.

‘Yes’, Jemma agreed. ‘Makes sense, it was Hydra tech.’

‘Do you…,’, Barns tried, ‘What happened?’

‘It was a couple of months before Hydra fell’, Jemma explained. ‘We didn’t know it then, but it was a Hydra program. They took Shield agents and assets, took out one of their eyes and put one in that was connected to a handler. They’d communicate with the victim, giving orders and making sure they were fulfilled and like with your arm, the tech was connected through the nervous endings. But, in Centipede’s case, that was so they could blow it up.’

‘Is there a possibility of that technology being in the arm?’, Steve asked, concern evident.

Jemma shook her head. ‘No, I assure you it’s not.’

Barnes snarled. ‘It’s not like they needed to blackmail me, not after they made me comply.’

‘Well, Mr. Barnes’, Jemma said quickly, obviously wanting to change the subject, ‘I’ve done what I could, but it wasn’t much. I know you’re going to hate me for saying this, you superhero types usually do’, she spared a look at Steve, ‘but you need to take better care of yourself.’

Barnes frowned.

‘And better care of the arm’, Jemma went on. ‘Rest after a day of hard work, use some calming cream on the muscles’, she went as far as running her fingers over his shoulder, where flesh met metal, ‘and find yourself an engineer to take a look at it every once in a while.’

Fitz felt the need to wave at Barnes, at that.

‘Are we done?’, the soldier asked, and Jemma nodded.

‘I’d still like to run a diagnostic system’, Fitz said. ‘Make sure I haven’t missed anything.’

‘Can you do that here?’, Barnes asked, and Fitz nodded, taking out his tablet and the necessary wires.

Sam started crying then, and Jemma went quickly by Steve’s side.

‘I think he’s due for a diaper change’, Fitz said, and Jemma was quick to say she’ll handle it.

‘Oh, and change him into the Falcon outfit, will you?’, Fitz added right before she left, and Jemma laughed, winking at Steve before she went.

The diagnostic didn’t reveal any additional problems, which was a good thing, because Barnes looked just about ready to run away.  Still, he stiffly thanked Fitz, which was something.

‘Did you eat? Since you got here?’, Fitz asked, surprising both of the other men.

Barnes shook his head, and Steve took over explaining.

‘No, thank you, but we’re trying to keep a low profile.’

‘Well I wasn’t offering cafeteria food’, Fitz scoffed, ‘it’s horrible. I was thinking more around the lines of the lasagna I have in my apartment.’

Steve frowned.

‘The secluded apartment, in a deserted part of the base, that I share just with the baby and, well, I mean, Jemma’s probably there too right now.’

‘Plus’, he turned to Barnes. ‘I’d like you to stick around me for a while, just to make sure I didn’t screw anything up.’

Steve and Barnes had a wordless conversation, but in the end, they followed Fitz to his apartment.

♥

The sound Steve made when he stepped into Sam’s room and saw him wearing the Falcon shirt, happily sitting in Jemma’s lap while she fed him, Fitz will never forget that sound.

He stood back, as Steve took some pictures and, probably, texted them to the Falcon, but then he went and got the table ready.

Barnes was the first one to come into the kitchen, wordlessly extending a phone to Fitz, Steve’s phone.

_(Sam: OH MY GOD STEVE. I want 12_  
_Steve: Babies or onesies?_  
_Sam: 12 babies. 1 onesie sized for me. a cute lady wouldn't hurt._  
_Steve: I think she's taken_  
_Sam:  another cute lady, then)_

Fitz snorted. ‘It’s weird, realizing that the Avengers are actual, real life people, with a sense a humor and a love life.’

It was Barnes’ turn to snort. ‘Wait till you see how much we eat.’

♥

Couloson sent him a ‘please entertain the geriatrics’ text, so Fitz wasn’t too keen on going back to the lab. Jemma had to, and she politely bid them goodbye, taking great delight in the grateful ‘Thank you’ Barnes told her.

He was right, both he and Steve ate a lot, but so did Fitz, so he always had enough food around. They were silent as they ate, and it wasn’t as awkward as Fitz would’ve thought it would be.

Sam probably helped with that, considering he switched between Fitz’s and Steve’s lap, keeping up a running commentary of baby babbles and spit.

Neither of their guests seemed to mind.

And after they were done eating, Steve took Sam to the playmat that was laid in front of the couch, and Barnes sat down on the couch and started flipping through the tv channels, and well. Fitz took a nap, because Sam will never be as safe in his life as he was now, playing with Captain America.

It wasn’t more than 30 minutes later that he was woken up, and Fitz took great pleasure in only startling lightly when Hawkeye barged in.

‘Wheels up in 10’, Barton said, then his eyes landed on where Sam was sitting on Steve’s chest, as Cap was sprawled on the floor.

‘Well, maybe 20’, Barton said next, promptly setting himself down next to Steve and tickling Sam.

Fitz just… watched. Because his life was insane. No doubt about it.

‘Nice to finally meet you, Fitz’, Hawkeye said without even looking up from Sam. ‘You don’t happen to have any leftover tricks arrows, do you? Cause I don’t think Stark’s going to be up to making them for me.’

He narrowed his eyes. ‘Have you spoken to Coulson about this?’

Barton grinned up at him. ‘He said he’d allow it, if you accept it.’

Fitz snorted, rubbing the remains of sleep out of his eyes.

‘Sure, Hawkeye. I still have your old schematics.’

‘You made arrows for him before?’, Steve asked.

‘Yeah’, Fitz nodded. ‘Back when Shield was still Shield and he was more half of Strike Team Delta than he was Hawkeye.’

‘Think you can make some icer arrowheads?’, Barton asked, a bit of excitement clear on his face.

Fitz tilted his head, his brain running a mile of minute.

‘Oh, I like that face’, Barton smirked. ‘That face means business.’

Fitz forced his face into a more neutral expression. ‘Simmons and I will figure something out, I’m sure.’

‘Good’, Barton grinned. ‘We’ll keep in touch. Now. Please come and take the cute baby away, cause we really should get going.’

Fitz snorted, but did as asked.

Barton and Steve both shook his hand before they left, and Barnes looked like he was trying to convince himself to do the same. Fitz spared him, by changing his grip on Sam, making sure to have both hands occupied.

‘You know where to find me if you need more maintenance.’, he said, pointedly looking at the metal arm.

‘Thanks’, Barnes said, stiffly, but still grateful.

After the Avengers left and closed the door behind them, Fitz just stood there, unsure of what to do with himself.

‘My life is weird’, he told Sam.

‘Bah!’, was the baby’s quick response, paired with a slap to Fitz’s chest. It probably meant that he agreed.

♥

Two days later, Jemma barged into Fitz’s room before he woke up. With a bright, but somewhat evil smile, and with a cooler and a large backpack.

‘We’re going on a road trip, Fitz’, she said without leaving any room for negotiations.

Fitz’s reaction was to yawn.

‘Come on, up an at’em’, Jemma kept grinning. ‘Go shower, I’ll wake up Sam and get him ready and pack his things and –‘

‘Where are we going?’, Fitz interrupted her rant.

‘That, my dear Fitz, is a surprise.’

She said it with a big grin, again, borderline evil, but with a playful glint in her eyes.

‘What about work?’, Fitz felt the need to ask.

‘I cleared it with Coulson’, Jemma rolled her eyes. ‘Enough stalling, come on!’

She paired her strong tone with the swift movement of taking off Fitz’s comforter. He whined, but he did get out of bed.

♥

Road trip meant three hours of Jemma driving them to an undisclosed location. Fitz wouldn’t have minded it, but keeping a baby in the closed quarters of a moving car might as well be equivalent to taking a baby to a concert because Sam had no chill.

By the time Jemma finally parked the car, Fitz was exhausted. But Sam calmed down as soon as he was out in the fresh air, and it was only after he settled the baby in his stroller, did Fitz take the time to look around.

They were parked in front of a zoo. Jemma was grinning at him, clearly waiting for some kind of a reaction.

‘Do they have monkeys?’, Fitz asked, slowly.

Jemma nodded, and then she all but jumped on him, hugging Fitz tightly.

‘Any reason for this?’, he mumbled into her hair, and Jemma giggled.

‘Maaaaybe’.

‘That tells me nothing.’, Fitz deadpanned, making her giggle harder.

She pushed him away, so she could turn around and start pushing Sam’s stroller towards the entrance.

‘You trust me, right?’, she cheekily threw over her shoulder.

Really, what was Fitz supposed to answer to that? He just jogged till he caught up with her.

♥

Fitz didn’t even notice when Jemma took his hand.

He just found himself in front of the lions’ habitat, and felt her squeeze his fingers. Looking down, Fitz saw that yes, his hand and Jemma’s were indeed linked, and they somehow managed to work well in sync, both of them pushing Sam’s stroller with their free hands.

Fitz opened his mouth to say something, probably ask her when did that happen, but Jemma cut him off.

‘Time for lunch’, she smiled at him. ‘It’s a beautiful day for a picnic, isn’t it?’

And it was. The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in sight, there was a little breeze, just enough to move Jemma’s hair around.

‘Sure, Jemma’, Fitz grinned, ‘Did you bring food?’

She rolled her eyes, good naturally, and dragged him along.

♥

Lunch was sandwiches and lukewarm tea, but it was delicious, as it usually was when Jemma cooked.

They didn’t hurry after they finished eating, because it truly was a wonderful day, and Fitz couldn’t even remember the last time he had a picnic, out in nature, feeling grass under his fingertips.

It most definitely was with Jemma by his side, yes, but the baby was a new addition. He didn’t mind it.

Not when Jemma was laying beside him on the blanket, on her back with Sam perched on her chest. She was telling him a story, about an experiment gone wrong when they were still at the Academy, and Sam was happy to watch her and laugh with her.

After she finished her story, Sam’s eyes started drooping, so they were silent for a while, until he fell asleep. With one of his hands still in Jemma’s hair, and with his head resting between her breasts.

‘I’m going to be heartbroken when we’re going to have to say goodbye’, she whispered, and Fitz gulped.

‘Me too.’

‘We’ll help each other through it’, Jemma said with a touch of determination, and he had to smile at that.

‘I’m really glad-‘, he had to take a deep breath and force himself to look at Jemma. ‘I’m really glad you’re here.’

She smiled at that, pink coloring her cheeks. Then it was her turn to take a deep breath, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she slowly put a hand on Fitz’s neck, and gently pulled him forward.

The angle was weird, and they both had to be careful not to wake Sam up, but the kiss was borderline perfect, in Fitz’s eyes.

This wasn’t the first time they kissed, but this, this was how he has always imagined it. It was soft, and it was sweet, and Jemma’s fingers in his hair helped Fitz ground himself.

He must have stopped breathing at some point, because he only remembered he needed air when Jemma took a deep breath through her nose. Her hand moved then, from his neck to Fitz’s shoulder and down his back, and when Jemma pushed her nails into his flesh, even though there was still the layer of clothing between them, it still sent a spark of electricity through Fitz, and he whimpered.

He’ll never admit it out loud, but he whimpered. It only made Jemma smile. And, well, it was over soon enough, because kissing was hard when you were both grinning.

Jemma giggled, when they pulled away, and Fitz joined her, delighted to see that they were both blushing, and both giggling like idiots.

‘That went better than last time’, Jemma said, and it said a lot, about the place they were at now, that Fitz didn’t immediately fall into a pit of despair, but rather, he snorted.

‘Just barely.’

‘Well we’ll just have to keep on trying. Experimentation leads to success, you know.’

Jemma was flirting, and she was teasing, and Fitz-

‘I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.’

She grinned at that, and pulled him down again, but not for a kiss.

‘Lay down and cuddle with us.’, Jemma said with authority, and he was in no position to deny her.

♥

They got back to the base just in time for Sam’s bath, which Jemma was happy to take part in, and the baby fell asleep in a surprisingly short time.

‘The excitement of today must have gotten to him’, Jemma said, and Fitz shrugged, because he didn’t really mind.

They had dinner together, and it was easy, sitting on opposite sides of the table, drinking beer and still talking about the animals they’ve seen.

When they were done eating, Jemma lingered, and it all came crashing down on Fitz.

What did it mean? They kissed, yes, but did that mean he was allowed to kiss her again? Did she want that? Maybe. They should talk.

They should talk, definitely, but how could he even open up that discussion? Last time, it didn’t go well. Things were different now, certainly, but they were also still complicated.

He was in charge of a baby, for god’s sake. And when that wasn’t happening, there were still aliens and evil inhumans and Hydra and god knows what else. They were Shield agents, life was never going to be easy for them.

But Bobbi and Hunter could do it. They were agents, but they were happy together. Maybe Jemma and Fitz could do it too.

He wanted it. He wanted it badly, but that didn’t mean it would be easy. Far from it. He was willing to try, he’d give anything to get a proper chance at a life with Jemma, but would she be willing too? She’s been through so much ever since the bottom of the ocean, how could she possibly-

‘Fitz’, Jemma’s voice interrupted him. She was standing close, right in front of him, smiling softly.

‘You’re over thinking.’

Fitz blinked. ‘How do you know that?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘I am very familiar with your thinking face, Fitz. And I think it’s time you stopped thinking.’

Jemma laid her palm flat against his chest and displayed an amount of physical strength that surprised him. It was probably because he wasn’t expected it, that Jemma was able to shove Fitz down onto the couch.

He yelped, staring as Jemma crawled on top of him, her knees on either side of his thighs. His heartbeat increased instantly, but his instincts kicked in, and Fitz managed to put his hands on her waist, steadying her.

His eyes were wide, he knew it, and his mouth was hanging open. It was unattractive, probably, but Jemma was smiling down at him with a very soft expression.

‘Fitz’, she put her hands on either side of his face, ‘please stop thinking.’

When Jemma kissed him, Fitz did exactly that. He willed his brain to stop questioning, and he gave as best as he got.

This was different from the previous kisses he shared with Jemma, because there wasn’t anything sweet about it.

She wasted no time in forcing his mouth open with her tongue, and Fitz tightened his hold on her when that happened. She might have giggled, but it was muffled by the low growl that found its way up his throat.

While Jemma was all but devouring Fitz’s mouth, her hands weren’t idle. She ran her fingers through his hair, gently scratching at the base of his neck and further down his chest. As more time passed, Jemma opened the top two buttons of his shirt, and Fitz groaned again, when her fingers touched his skin.

In response, he got Jemma biting on his lower lip. Fitz didn’t groan that time, but he did gather enough courage to move his hands. His dragged his left hand down to Jemma’s bottom, kneading the soft flesh under his fingers, as his other hand sneaked up on her back, under her shirt, scratching gently.

Jemma yelped, a bit, still not detaching from his lips, but Fitz apparently startled her, because she had a kneejerk reaction, of moving her hips. She pushed them against his, and really, that got both of them groaning.

But she kissed him even harder at that, and Fitz responded in kind. He completely lost himself in it, in the feeling of Jemma’s lips against his, of her body under his hands. He lost himself in the tiny sounds Jemma made whenever Fitz’s hands trailed up over her chest and in the way she whispered his name every time he pushed her hips closer to his.

She stayed over that night, on the other side of his bed, wearing one of tshirts, trading lazy kisses until they fell asleep.

And during the night, when he woke up to Sam’s cries, Jemma always snuggled right up to him when he came back to bed, even if she never woke up.

♥

‘We should talk’, he said, hesitantly, in the morning.

She threw him an annoyed look, which looked quite amusing, considering she was holding Sam and the baby was busy playing with her hair.

‘There’s not much to talk about’, she said, and Fitz winced on the harsh tone.

‘I just mean’, Jemma went on a bit more softly, ‘that… I want to be with you, and I think you want to be with me and now we’re both in a moment in our lives when that is possible.’

When he didn’t say anything, it was her turn to hesitate.

‘Is that not true?’

‘No, it is’, Fitz was quick to assure, smiling at her. ‘It is, but that doesn’t mean this will be easy.’

She nodded at that, but she also smirked. ‘We’re pretty good at dealing with not easy.’

‘That’s an understatement’, Fitz couldn’t help but puff his chest a little. But it was okay, because Jemma smiled at him, and she hooked a finger around his belt buckles to drag him closer, close enough so she could give him a soft, lazy kiss.

That lasted until Sam started whining, pushing his hands against their cheeks. Jemma laughed, good naturally, and Fitz munched on Sam’s fingers, until the baby was laughing and gurgling loud enough to be heard over Jemma’s laughter.

♥

At first, Jemma tried to find excuses to sleep over. She fell asleep while watching a movie, Sam was having a bad night and she wanted to help, she wanted a midnight snack and knew that Fitz would have something in his fridge.

They didn’t do much, move too far from the (honestly, quite hot) making out, but Fitz enjoyed falling asleep with her in his arms, and it always made the mornings a bit better.

‘I’m out of sleeping shirts’, he said after a week of this. ‘You should just leave some of yours here. And a spare toothbrush. And…’, he waved a hand around, ‘things.’

‘Are you sure?’, Jemma frowned at him, fingers curling around the edge of the shirt she was wearing, his shirt.

‘Yeah’, Fitz nodded. ‘If you want.’

‘I want’, she said quickly, shaking her head after it. ‘I’ll bring some tomorrow.’

And that was that. Over the course of a week, Jemma’s old room was empty, and all of her things were moved into Fitz’s room.

Fitz wasn’t there, but Jemma told him that Coulson’s face when she informed him about the vacancy was incredible.

♥

Sam left a week later.

Apparently, the police caught his parent’s killer, and it was so unbelievably normal: a robbery gone bad.

Still, everybody grew attached to Sam over the time he spent at base, and Coulson wasn’t going to let the baby get lost in the foster system. So he found someone willing to take Sam in.

Alice Monroe used to be a teacher at the Academy, Jemma and Fitz were both in her class. She was a middle aged woman, but she was smart and kind. And she was retiring in a small, calm little town in Iowa.

Everybody was sad to see Sam go, Daisy even cried as she faked his birth certificate and medical records.

Jemma cried as well, the entire night before Agent Monroe was set to pick Sam up. They all slept in the bed that night, Sam safely secured between the two of them.

As predicted, it was devastating.  But Fitz was a rational person, he knew that this will be best for Sam. The Shield life was no place for a baby.

It didn’t make saying goodbye any easier.

He spent about an hour with Sam in his hands, talking with Agent Monroe, telling her about Sam’s schedule, about what he liked, what he didn’t. The woman listened patiently, asking pertinent question, and it only solidified the thought in Fitz’s brain, that this was the right thing to do.

Jemma cried all the way through her goodbyes, and it was horrible, because Sam was laughing, not understanding what was happening.

It was better that way, Fitz thought. He couldn’t have handled Sam crying.

After Agent Monroe left with Sam, Fitz just held Jemma for a while. She was crying, softly, and he couldn’t offer much comfort, but he could hug her till she felt brave enough to face the world again.

‘You can keep the apartment’, Coulson said after they detached.

‘Why?’, Jemma frowned.

‘I thought we’d better use that wing too. So you’re going to have neighbors, Bobbi and Hunter, Daisy and Lincoln, and a few other pairs.’

‘Oh’, Fitz breathed out. ‘You’re putting the couples in apartments.’

Coulson nodded. ‘You can put Sam’s furniture in storage, and make that your bedroom. Or whatever you want, really.’

‘That’s sounds nice, sir’, Jemma managed to smile. ‘Thank you. We’ll get right on it.’

And she dragged Fitz away.

♥

They made no move to actually clear out Sam’s room, because Jemma had other ideas.

She needed a distraction, Fitz understood that, because he needed it too. Still, in the back of his mind, he wondered if this was really the best idea.

But Fitz wasn’t a strong man.

So when Jemma kissed him roughly, pushing him against a wall, he didn’t stop her.

And when she started taking off his clothes, Fitz didn’t stop her.

And when Jemma started moaning his name, he didn’t even think about stopping her anymore.

♥

Fitz wasn’t the type of person to make friends, so two days later, when a man he didn’t know barged into his and Jemma’s lab, he didn’t think it was weird.

What was weird, was that the man looked around the lab, clearly looking for something in particular, before frowning at Fitz.

‘No more baby?’, the man asked, and Fitz just blinked.

‘We found a more suitable place for him’, Jemma said, slowly.

‘Awh man’, the stranger all but whined. ‘I really wanted to hug that baby.’

‘Who are you?’, Fitz asked, probably a bit too forcefully.

‘Sam Wilson.’

When that got no reaction from Fitz or Jemma, he rolled his eyes.

‘Also known as Falcon.’

‘Ah’, Fitz nodded, still very confused.

‘Did you come here just to hug the baby?’, Jemma asked, somewhat incredulously.

‘No, I came here cause James needs a cleanup on his arm, and I need a cleanup on my wings, and the baby cuddles were supposed to be a bonus.’

‘Sorry to disappoint’, Jemma smiled.

‘But we’re happy to work on your tech.’, Fitz added, and they wordlessly made their way to the garage.

♥

Barnes brought a gift from Steve, a little plush bear dressed as Captain America. Even if baby Sam was no longer with them, not even Barnes’ metal arm was able to pry away that teddy from Jemma’s hands.

‘So’, Barnes said as Fitz was working on his arm, ‘how long till you two make a baby?’

Fitz dropped the screwdriver he was holding. Jemma turned redder than Mars.

‘Barnes’, Falcon deadpanned, ‘we gotta work on your subtlety.’

‘Oh, I wasn’t trying to be subtle’, James said with no remorse. ‘I just have a bet with Steve.’

‘What bet?’, Jemma asked, even if her voice was very high pitched.

‘He says you’re together, I say you’re not’, James grinned at Jemma.

Fitz and she shared a long look, and she wordlessly told him to deal with this. Something along the lines of ‘ugh, men’ was probably going through her mind.

‘We’re together now’, Fitz said as normally as he could, ‘but we weren’t when you met us.’

‘So I win, technically’, James grinned. ‘Steve’s gonna love that’.

The sarcasm this man had could compete with his own, Fitz thought. He didn't even recognize him as the same man he met a few weeks ago.

‘I’m still keeping the teddy bear’, Jemma said strongly, and Fitz didn’t even think.

‘Yes, dear.’

He pulled a face, because that just sounded wrong coming from his lips.

Jemma snorted. But she also kissed him, and made the Captain America teddy kiss his cheek too, and she urged him to get back to work. Which he did.

He always did what she said, why would he stop now?

**Author's Note:**

> Reblog on [tumblr](http://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/139359708251/the-littlest-agent-of-shield-when-daisy-comes-back), if you want the picspam :)


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